Your source for the latest news on Rutgers football, basketball, and other sports

Menu

Daily Archives: February 25, 2011

For Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, there's plenty to like (and not to like) about the Scarlet Knights' 2011 schedule. (MyCentralJersey.com file photo)

Some thoughts on Rutgers’ just-announced 2011 football schedule:

What to like

Saturday games. Whenever the subject of why Rutgers’ attendance has lagged in recent years, the two explanations I hear most from fans are: 1) The lack of marquee home games and 2) the high number of mid-week, 7:30 p.m. games make it difficult to wake up for work the following day. While we’ll address the former complaint later, six Saturday home games should alleviate the latter excuse. Traditional Saturday games will be the norm, as the Scarlet Knights will play host to Ohio, Pitt, Navy, West Virginia, USF and Cincinnati this season.

Road trips. Of the five road games, three are within driving distance, including the Nov. 12 meeting with Army at Yankee Stadium.

Building momentum. September appears to be the easiest part of the schedule, as Rutgers gets its FCS workout out of the way before traveling to play North Carolina and returning home to play Ohio after a bye. If the Scarlet Knights can upset the Tar Heels — we know they’ll be an underdog, but they’ve won down there before — they would likely be 3-0 heading into the Big East opener on Oct. 1 at Syracuse.

4 home, 3 away. Rutgers has no control over how the Big East sets up the conference schedule, but having West Virginia and USF — the preseason favorites — at Rutgers Stadium isn’t bad at all. We figure that the Big East opener at Syracuse could go either way, but in the final season before the conference balances the schedule by adding TCU the Scarlet Knights will get the benefit of hosting four league games while playing just three on the road.

Hosting high school championships. The home schedule ends Nov. 19 (against Cincinnati) and the season ends the following week, meaning Rutgers Stadium should be available to host the NJSIAA championships the weekend of Dec. 2-4.

Rutgers wideout Mohamed Sanu will be looking to build on a solid sophomore campaign when the Scarlet Knights kickoff their 2011 season Sept. 1. (MyCentralJersey.com file photo)

The Rutgers football team’s 12-game schedule next season will include 10 teams that played in bowl games, including four of the five foes on the non-conference slate.

The Big East Conference and Rutgers announced its 2011 slate on Friday, unveiling a Scarlet Knights’ schedule that includes seven home games, including six on Saturdays next fall.

The Scarlet Knights, who finished 4-8 overall and in last place in the Big East with a 1-6 mark last fall, will kickoff the season Sept. 1 at home versus Football Championship Subdivision-member North Carolina Central at 7:30 p.m.

Rutgers then travels to play North Carolina on Sept. 10, marking the fourth time in six seasons it will face its ACC rival. North Carolina — the lone BCS Conference opponent on Rutgers’ schedule — defeated Tennessee last December in the Music City Bowl to culminate an 8-5 campaign.

Following a bye, Rutgers will play host to Mid-American Conference-member Ohio on Sept. 24. The Bobcats, who last faced Rutgers in 2006, finished 8-5 last season, losing to Troy in the New Orleans Bowl.

The Scarlet Knights begin their Big East slate the following week, opening up on the road at Syracuse on Oct. 1.

Rutgers returns home for its Big East opener the following Saturday, hosting Pitt on Oct. 8.

The Scarlet Knights will renew their rivalry with Navy, hosting the Midshipmen on Oct. 15. Navy, which upset Rutgers in its most recent meeting in 2008, finished 9-4 last season, losing in the Poinsettia Bowl.

Rutgers will have a short week to gear up for an nationally-televised ESPN primetime matchup against Louisville, traveling to face the Cardinals on Oct. 21.

Another two home games versus Big East foes — West Virginia on Oct. 29 and USF on Nov. 5 –- are next on the docket for the Scarlet Knights.

Highlighting the non-conference slate will be a Nov. 12 clash with Army at Yankee Stadium. The Black Knights, who will serve as the host for the afternoon affair in the Bronx, lost to SMU in the Armed Forces Bowl to cap a 7-6 campaign in 2010. It will mark the first time since 1948 that Rutgers plays at Yankee Stadium.

Rutgers will kickoff its home finale on Nov. 19, playing host to Cincinnati before concluding the 2011 campaign at Connecticut on Nov. 26.

Rutgers and the Big East will announce game times and additional television information at a later date.

If so, who should it be against and why? College Football is part of the fond fabric in America due to the school spirit and contagious support from the alums and home state. Every Saturday, millions of people tune in to watch their favorite college football teams battle among each other for superiority, respect, and […]

We preview this weekend’s action here Coming off of the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago, Rutgers will send ten male and two female track and field athletes to this weekend’s NCAA East Regional Preliminary Championships. It takes place from May 24th to 26th in Tampa, Florida, Here is full breakdown of which athletes are […]